Peppermint Cupid
by fairlyoddpotter
Summary: Hi there. This is my very first Dramione fanfiction, and I apologize if there are some misspellings and/or grammatical errors. This story is about Draco and Hermione during their 4th year. Hope y'all enjoy it. Thanks.
1. Insomnia

Chapter 1

It's nearly midnight. While everyone was sleeping, Hermione was still in Common Room, reading books, alone. She usually sleep earlier – unless there was a sudden 'quest' to do with Harry and Ron. She couldn't stop thinking about the Yule Ball. _One day left_, she thought. And somehow it made her wide awake all night.

And not only the Yule Ball she has been thinking about, but also her date, Viktor Krum. She was afraid if he wasn't the right choice. She wondered if Draco Malfoy was her partner. Since she punched his face last year, Draco often appears on her mind. Everytime she met him, she shuddered from the head to toes. Still, Hermione loathed him. But if only...

She heard footsteps, and then the one who made the sound sat beside her. It was Ron. He brought lots of tasks to do.

"Have you done Potions homeworks?" Ron asked.

"I've finished it a week ago," Hermione answered proudly.

"Ah, great. I don't even know the answer of number 5," Ron said.

Hermione took his paper and puzzled it out. "Blimey, Ron, it's definitely Sleeping Draught!"

"Oh yeah, thanks, Hermione," Ron withdrawed his homework. He looked at Hermione's books. "We never learn these before."

"It's for OWL next year," Hermione said.

Ron saw the books again. They weren't even subjects for fifth year. A sketch of a couple dancing together on the cover... there must be something related to the Yule Ball.

"These," Ron grabbed all the books. "Are for OWL. Yeah, right."

"Okay, I got caught! she confessed. "I never dance with someone before, you know. I'm afraid I look awkward dancing with him."

Ron was insanely shocked, whereas he was going to ask her out. "Wait – you've got partner?"

"Did that really surprise everyone here?"

"Well, it's just... quite shocking, really."

Hermione couldn't help her feelings. She didn't want Ron to found out that she'd be with Krum, not now. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What would you do if I my date was Malfoy?"

Ron gasped, "I'd completely punch him and kick his arse out – wait, don't tell me it is really him!"

Hermione smirked, "No, of course not! Everybody knows he would rather ask Pansy than spending time to ask mudbloods like me..."

"Don't call yourself a mudblood!" Ron protested. "Don't even think to grovel!"

"Calm down, Ron. I was just...wondering," Hermione said.

"Better you don't, next time. Four years and Malfoy and his filthy friends couldn't stop doing bad things on us!" Ron said a bit angrily.

Hermione stood up. "But what if he changes? Don't you think that there's a better side of him we haven't known yet?"

Sudden silence began. Ron was trying to figure out why on earth Hermione could say that. _Malfoy? Really? Bloody hell, what's wrong with her?_

He sighed. "Shut it, 'Mione. It's already late, we should go back to sleep. Good night, sleep well."

"Good night, Ron."

They picked up their stuffs and went to their own room. Ron might wished her to sleep well, but she couldn't. Hermione's eyes still opened widely, even when she already laid in her bed. Maybe she thought too much, but no. There was nothing on her mind, except him – that blonde-Slytherin guy – if it wasn't considered as 'much'.

Hermione remembered when she saw Draco asked Pansy Parkinson if she wanted to be his date on Yule Ball. They looked so happy together. She tried not to care, yet she often seemed so annoyed every time people talked about them. That's why she chose to accept Viktor Krum's offer immediately, as a distraction. But it didn't change anything.

Meanwhile, in Slytherin dormitory, Draco was looking at the mirror, trying a suit given from his mother for the Ball. He was nervous. He supposed it wouldn't be going well if he went to the upcoming party with Pansy. Somehow, she was always considered things too serious. What if he told her jokes and then she got mad, especially when they showed up as a couple and there was nothing to talk about?

Then he thought about Hermione Granger accidentally. It just always come to his brain. All the time. He couldn't help it either. He imagined himself dancing with her, having fun together, and there were no boundaries between 'pureblood' and 'mudblood', not like what his parents had told to him.

_What were you thinking, Draco? You and Granger? Not a perfect match._

He touched wounds on his nose caused by Hermione's punch, and he looked back to that time, when she attacked – even touched him for the first time. Draco smiled. Then he hid his smile by keep looking at the mirror when Pansy came in.

"You're not asleep yet, Draco?" Pansy asked.

"Yeah, I still doubt this tuxedo would suit me," Draco lied.

Pansy laughed. "Well, it really suits you, darling, and as a matter of fact, it would look much better when you wear it while attending the dance ball with me!"

_What's the point? And 'darling' stuff?_ He thought.

"Haha," Draco smirked awkwardly.

Pansy went closer to him and took off the tuxedo. "I suppose you should take a rest for now. It's only the ball, don't worry."

"Yeah, you're right," Draco agreed. He muttered softly, "Unless Hermione anger stared and laughed at my suit."

"What?"

"Nothing," Draco lied again. "You should take a rest, too, Pansy."

"Tomorrow's going to be a big day, right?" Pansy hugged him, left him and closed the door. "Good night, honey."

He was relieved that Pansy finally went out of his room. He almost thought he would probably spent the rest of night with her. He went to his bed, but he wasn't sleepy yet. A girl named Hermione Granger keep coming to his mind, and Draco didn't even know if it was a bad thing or not.

Maybe not. No, that was good, though.

Pansy and Ron didn't realize what was really going on. There was a mind-connection between Draco and Hermione, somehow. Hermione was still awake, same as Draco. They both had been thinking too much, and even though it was disturbing, they couldn't stop it.

Hermione whispered to herself before she slept, so did Draco. Not really.

"Sleep well, Draco."

"Sleep well, Hermione."


	2. Not As Planned

Chapter 2

The Yule Ball was coming in...approximately 6 hours, or less. Students in Hogwarts showed up with thousands of big smiles. Teachers might be in a good mood, too, they agreed to postpone all the tests until The Triwizard Tournament is over. Even Snape, when he announced that to Harry Potter's class. It shocked everyone, especially Hermione. She had studied for exams since the first day in the fourth year. While everyone was screaming, jumping – and Neville was too excited he accidentally casted a spell that made Seamus's face blowed up – she just sat on her chair with a sullen face.

Harry and Ron, who are so bad in Potions, seemed even happier than the others. When they saw Hermione, they came closer to her, just to make sure she's okay. She SHOULD be okay, who's not excited about the upcoming ball – and the cancellation of the tests?

"Cheer up, Hermione," Harry poked her. "I know you've been studying for so long,"

"Too long, I guess," Ron muttered.

"Well, at least finally teachers know we should take a break. _You_ should take a break." Harry said.

Hermione stood up angrily. "This is unfair! I want to finish exams earlier! I've wasted my time just for these Potions thingy and..."

"Well, well... did that really dissapoint you, Granger?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked back. That was Draco Malfoy, and his annoying friends Crabbe and Goyle. And it even disturbed Hermione more when she saw Pansy who was right behind Draco.

Hermione frowned. "You again."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Potter, unfortunately, but you should take a break," Draco said.

"You mad, freaks?" Crabbe laughed at Hermione and her friends. But Draco showed a sign to him to shut up.

"Just go away, Malfoy. Instead of us, you should worry the pink dress you'd wear for the ball from your Mommy," Harry quipped.

"And also the high heels. You don't want to look ugly in front of her, do you?" Ron pointed Pansy.

_Not Pansy, but her!_ Draco felt so angry, he was about to hit Ron but unfortunately Hermione stepped his foot and kick his thigh until he fell. Harry and Ron were stunned. Twice.

"OUCH!" Draco grinned.

Pansy helped him to stand up. "Draco! Are you alright?"

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes, which were full or anger. Or jealousy, he guessed. But he was right, actually. Hermione couldn't stand watching him close to her. Draco didn't answer Pansy. _It's not alright when your crush stands up against you to defend her friends._

Hermione flicked her wand and pointed it to Draco. "You're never bored to mess with us, aren't you?"

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Pansy said. Crabbe and Goyle ran away – they didn't want to be involved in this situation. Ron was totally excited, he provoked Hermione.

"Come on, Hermione! Change him into a rat –"

"Or maybe spider," Harry chuckled.

" – oh, shut up, Harry!"

Hermione seemed so serious she might turn Draco into a frog – maybe spider – but she never decided to curse him. She only wanted to stare at him, closer, deeper...

Draco lowered her wand. "I know you won't."

"What do you mean – "

Draco whispered right to her ear. "Meet me after ball, at the corner behind teachers' seats, at midnight."

"What if I don't?" Hermione said. "I know it's only your trick to..."

"No, I'll be alone. And you should come alone, too."

"Why should I?"

"You ask too much, Granger. Is that too hard for mudblood brainiacs like you?"

"Fine. But don't let them– " Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, who were trying to figure out what she and Draco were talking about " – know this."

"Deal." Draco looked at Hermione, even deeper.

Hermione didn't look back until Draco left the class with Pansy. _He knew_, she thought. _What would he possibly do to me?_

"What did he want from you, 'Mione?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Nothing," She lied. "It was kind of...private talk."

"Private talk?" Harry wondered. "I think it's strange if..."

"Lunch time!" Hermione interrupted. She grabbed their hands. "You don't want to be here for a long time, do you?"

Still, Harry and Ron look very confused.

"Besides, you said that I should take a break. Come on!"

It's already 7 p.m., which means... The Yule Ball was going to start. People were waiting for the four champions of Triwizard Tournament, and their couples. Draco, wearing the shiny black suit from his "Mommy", were standing near the wall with Pansy. For the other Slytherin boys, Pansy was the most beautiful among the girls. But for Draco, Pansy looked more like a fake. He looked around to find Hermione. He thought she didn't join the party. He asked everyone where she was, but no one knew.

Draco even asked Ron, who was dating with Padma Patil. But Ron didn't want to answer Draco, as he was also looking for Hermione, too. Harry wasn't seen because he must be with his competitors. So Draco went back to Pansy, and just waited.

A few minutes later, people finally greeted by the champions' arrival. Harry Potter with Parvati Patil, Cedric Diggory with Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour with Roger Davies, and Viktor Krum with... Hermione Granger.

Yeah, Hermione, wearing a lovely pink dress. Harry didn't even know it was her, until she met him and Parvati.

And neither did the other students. Neither did Draco.

Dumbledore made an opening speech first, and then the ball started with the four champions dancing with their own couples. The others followed not longer after that. Draco danced with Pansy awkwardly. He didn't really look at Pansy when they danced, he never loose sight of Hermione. He felt a bit jealous – not a bit, Krum suddenly became his new rival.

And Hermione didn't feel comfortable when she danced with Krum. She always worried about Draco, and always keep an eye on Pansy. She was jealous to her. But Hermione stayed calm, and acted like there's no problem dancing with this Durmstrang guy. But what she didn't know was, Krum also felt the same. He felt like he used to be a strong man, and now people see him as a clumsy man dancing with a nerd girl.

After that, people had dinner together. Draco was drinking pumpkin juice with Pansy when Snape suddenly came to them.

"There you are, Ms. Parkinson," Snape said.

"Are you looking for me, Professor?" Pansy asked.

"If I may, Malfoy," he asked for permission to Draco, in case he disturbed them. Then he turned to Pansy. "Do you remember the potion you brewed two weeks ago, the Peppermint Potion? The waiters told me that somehow it was mixed with one of these beverages,"

Pansy grinned. "How come, Professor?"

"That's what we're going to find out. So, I want you to help me and the other teachers to find it."

"Wait," Draco interrupted. "Pansy, you've made _that_ potion?"

"We don't have much time. We have to find the potion before someone drinks it."

"Oh, no!" Pansy whined. "So sorry, Draco, is that okay if I leave you for a while?"

"That's alright." Draco said briefly.

Pansy hugged Draco, left him and followed Snape. Draco still wondered what potion she had made... it didn't matter. The only thing he wanted was to meet Hermione immediately. But he ended up waiting at the corner alone, exactly the place where he and Hermione would meet, and eating some cheesecakes.

The time went really fast, and nobody realized the party was going to end. Some of the student declared this night as the best night ever, the others considered as the most awkward night ever, take Draco as the example.

The midnight was near, and the party was completely over. Most of the people were already gone. Hermione seemed so happy spending time together with Viktor Krum. They talked, ate, laughed, but Hermione actually didn't really enjoy it. After tired of dancing, they took foods and drinks, and sat together.

"So, do you enjoy the ball?" Krum asked.

"Absolutely," Hermione lied. _Especially if I came with Draco Malfoy, all would be better_.

"Here, these are for you," Krum passed his foods to her.

"You're not hungry?"

"Not really."

"Thanks."

Not like Krum, Hermione was so hungry. He kept asking her to dance, and she felt tired. She ate all the foods quickly and then choked hardly.

"Are you okay?" Krum asked again.

"No, I'm fine. It's delicious, really." Hermione answered, still coughing.

"Here, drink this," Krum took a cup of juice and gave it to her.

Hermione drank the juice, and suddenly she dropped the cup and almost fell down from the chair.

"Hermione!"

Krum helped her to stand up. But still, Hermione felt so limp, so dizzy, her vision blurred slowly, until it disappeared...

"Help! Somebody, help me!" Krum shouted out loud, but no one answered. "Hermione, wake up!"

Krum felt disappointed, actually. He didn't really like Hermione's behaviour. He didn't want to take care of her alone. He had to brought Hermione to _somebody_. Then, he saw Draco, still sitting alone.

"You, Draco Malfoy, right?" He shouted. "Can you come here, and help me?"

Draco ran to Krum and he was totally shocked when he saw Hermione. "What have you – "

"Don't get angry, because I don't know! She drank a juice and then – well, she suddenly fainted! What should we do?"

"Well, we can bring her back to Gryffindor Tower and – " Draco stopped. He just realized that the tower was far away from here, and it was midnight already.

"No! Take her with you!" Krum said.

"Me? Are you joking? You're her date, why don't you take her?"

"I _just_ knew her! And you've been here in Hogwarts with her for 4 years! Take care of Hermione, will you?"

Krum ran away, leaving Draco and Hermione alone. Draco had no idea what to do. Finally he decided to take Hermione to his dormitory. He carried Hermione, and went to his dormitory hurriedly, before they got caught by Filch. He entered the dorm, passed the Common Room easily – which was really quiet because everyone was already asleep – and entered his bedroom. Unlike the other students, who shared bedroom together, Draco had his own private bedroom.

He put Hermione on to his bed. Draco smiled when he saw Hermione asleep and stroked her hair.

"She is beautiful." He muttered.

He finally gave in and chose to sleep on the sofa. But he couldn't sleep well. Even though he was so close to Hermione, he still worried and hoped she would be okay.

Draco woke up earlier on the next day. He still wore the same clothes from yesterday. He checked his bed, and Hermione was still there. After he took a shower and changed his clothes, he tried to wake her before everyone was awakened.

"Hermione, wake up." He said softly.

Not long after that, Hermione finally opened her eyes widely. She was still laying in Draco's bed. But Hermione looked so different. And when she found out Draco was in front of her, she smiled happily.

"Good morning, Honey! Last night was so awesome! I wonder if we could repeat all the moments we had during the ball!"

Draco was terribly shocked. "Umm, actually, we didn't meet last night."

"Draco, don't be silly! Remember when you gave me a juice and it tasted like peppermint? When you asked me to dance again, and people watched us kissing in the middle of the ball?"

Draco was still confused. Hermione acted so unusual, he thought she had gone mad at first. But when he heard a word "peppermint" came from her mouth...

_Merlin beard_, Draco thought. _She drank the potion_.


	3. The Truth

"Where are we?" Hermione asked to Draco, who still seemed shocked knowing that she was poisoned. "And what's wrong with you?"

"No, no... I'm okay," Draco lied. "We're in my chamber."

Hermione smiled even bigger, and stood up. "You never consider me as a brainiac who always spend her time in library, don't you? You've gone too far, Sir. And ask me for permission, next time."

"What are you talking about?"

It took a long time for Draco to understand what she meant. Finally he realise when he noticed Hermione was about to take off her clothes. "No! We've done NOTHING! Are you out of your mind? Get back to your dorm!"

"Don't worry about Ron and Harry, Draco, they'll be fine without me! They'll get used to it," Hermione refused. "Now, shall we..."

Then she fainted. Again. And she was snoring – was it one of the effects of that bloody poison?

"You troublesome," Draco murmured. He went outside to check if there was someone in Common Room. Luckily, there were no one. Then he toted Hermione and sneaked out from the dormitory. Draco was overwhelmed – Hermione was too heavy! She ate a lot of cakes last night. But Draco felt a bit happy, actually. He was never this close to Hermione before. They'd been rivals for years, even though it actually hurt them, knowing that they were secretly in love. This morning, Hermione was about to confess it first...with a wrong way.

Draco stopped walking through the aisle, when he heard another footsteps. He and Hermione on his back hid behind the pillars. He saw an old shoes without shoelaces. He heard a sound of grumpy man and a cat's meow. And there was also light from oil lamp. That was Argus Filch with his pet, Mrs. Norris. But Filch didn't even think that a student was there that morning, he was sleepwalking! Draco sighed, and successfully passed him and his cat, while carrying Hermione. He walked faster to avoid Filch waking up and then caught them. Although it made him exhausted, he didn't care. It's Hermione he was worrying about, not what Filch, Snape or McGonagall punished him.

Finally Draco reached the main door of Gryffindor dormitory. At the same time, Ron and Harry were about to went out with an invisibility cloak to search Hermione, but they got caught – actually, both they and Draco got caught by each other. Harry and Ron opened the cloak, and they were in a highest scale of being surprised when they saw Hermione.

Ron yelled angrily, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE..."

"Ssshhhh! Shut up, you Gingerhead!" Draco whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "And Hermione – can you explain what happened to her?"

Suddenly, Hermione woke up, yawned, and fell. They all tried to help her up, but Hermione refused and said, "Step aside, all of you. I can do it by myself."

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked panically. "We were looking for you all night long! Did Malfoy hurt you?"

"Don't worry about me, Ron. He took care of me very, very kindly," Hermione smirked to Draco.

Ron pointed Draco. "He did?"

Hermione nodded. Ron looked toward Draco and said, "If there's something bad happened to her, I'll literally kick your arse,"

"We'll see about that," Draco said.

"Come on, Harry, Hermione, let's go back to the Common Room."

Hermione came closer to Draco and unexpectedly, kissed his cheek. "I'll miss you, Love. Goodbye, for now."

Everyone gaped. Draco was very shocked, but he tried to stay calm and then left them. While Ron, who was pretty pissed off, already grabbed Hermione and cast a keyword to enter Gryffindor House, Harry was still stunned.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Ron shouted.

"Hold on – well, I'll come later," Harry said. Then he followed Draco and shouted to him, "Wait, Malfoy!"

Draco stopped and turned to Harry. "What do you want, Potter? Don't get us into trouble again,"

"No, no. I was wondering why she was with you last night. I think something's happened. And why she called you 'Draco' or 'Love',"

"I don't know. She might be very drunk and she started bragging..."

"But how did she come to you? What happened last night? What have you done to her?"

Draco gave up. He knew he couldn't keep this secret alone. "Okay, Potter, I'm going to tell you the truth. But don't tell anyone, especially Weasley – he might kick me."

Harry nodded. "I'm listening,"

"Good, then," Draco said. "Last night, Snape said that Pansy's Peppermint Potion accidentally served with the other drinks at the Yule Ball. And I think Granger drank it, at the end of the Ball. There were only her, Krum, and me. Krum asked for help, so I came. He told me to brought her with me. It was midnight, and everybody already slept. And yeah – I brought her to my room."

"Did you..."

"Blimey, Potter, don't you even think about it! I slept in the sofa and she was on my bed. When she woke up, she suddenly acted like I was her... boyfriend or something. And she thought we were sleeping together, but trust me, we were not! That would be completely disgusting. Your mudblood friend is even more annoying than I thought!"

"I see, " Harry said briefly.

"You swear you won't tell this to anybody?" Draco asked. "If you do, you'll die as your parents did."

Harry felt so angry, he pulled Draco's tie. "Don't – say – anything – about – my – parents!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Draco apologized.

Harry took down the tie from his hand. He frowned, puzzled. "You're sorry?"

"Just promise me, Potter! Just this once!"

"Fine, Malfoy. I solemnly swear that I will keep my mouth shut."

Draco smiled. "Thank you, Potter. Now, if you excuse me, I'll go back to..."

"Wait! I still got a question for you!"

"Now what?" Draco whined. "Make it quick!"

Harry seemed suspicious and asked, "If she really was poisoned last night, why did you help her? You could leave her alone and let her got caught by Filch. You could make McGonagall cut down our House point. And you could laugh at Gryffindors whenever you want because Slytherin won the House Cup, especially at us – Ron and me. And Hermione."

Draco didn't answer. He didn't even know how to answer him. For the first time of his life, Draco felt like slapped in his face hardly by "the" Harry Potter. If he explained the truth, Harry would know his true feelings upon Hermione. And that would be such an embarassment, knowing that he and his friends always mock at Hermione all this time.

"That isn't like – I mean – there's nothing happened between Granger and me,"

"Did I even mention that _something_ has happened between you and Hermione?" Harry asked again. This time, Draco really ran out of words.

Harry smiled. "Don't answer that."

"Okay, then I'll go now." Draco said. He turned forward and left Harry. He went back to Slytherin hurriedly so his friends – especially Pansy – didn't notice that he was leaving. _This is bad_, he thought. _Potter knew_. He tried not to think about it and act normally. But if it comes to Hermione, who was poisoned now, how could he act like there's nothing happened? He had to help her, at least this once.

Young wizards at Hogwarts started gossiping about Hermione snogging with Draco day by day. They wondered what was really happening between both of them. It started when Gryffindor students noticed Hermione had just comeback to the dorm in the morning. Fred, George, Ginny, everybody asked them what happened. Harry and Ron tried to make up stories so they wouldn't become suspicious, but Hermione already interrupted.

"You all have no idea what I did last night. I was in the same bedroom with Draco. Draco Malfoy! And he...he... I can't believe he did that!" she said proudly.

And the news spread rapidly. Triwizard seemed not very important for most of the students, even Hufflepuff student who initially supported Cedric Diggory crazily. Guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang started searching which Draco or Hermione was. Even Pansy had heard about the rumours. But she tried not to believe, because she thought Hermione was drunk or something. A bit teachers spotted this case, such as Dumbledore and Snape. And Hagrid. The rest didn't really care, they were too busy preparing for the second task for the Triwizard competitors.

Draco felt hesitant. He was so glad people thought he and Hermione were dating. Then he realise it wasn't real – Hermione was still poisoned. He had to tell her the truth. When he stood alone in front of the Great Hall, suddenly he saw Hermione who was going to enter the hall with Ron.

He shouted, "Granger!"

"Oh, Draco!" Hermione turned and came closer to him, leaving Ron who started filled with aggravation. She waved to Ron and said, "I'll be back for minutes,"

"Yeah, but don't snog in the afternoon. Too many people watching," Ron quipped.

"Really funny. See you later!" Hermione said. Then she faced Draco after Ron entered the hall. "And why didn't you call me with my nickname?"

"I thought it would be too personal," Draco answered. "Alright, I call you Hermione."

"Right," Hermione sighed. "What's going on?"

Draco dragged Hermione to the corner so no one would be looking. He deeply took his breath. He couldn't stand staring at her eyes. They're so beautiful. He was afraid her eyes would turn into angry dragon's eyes when he told the truth. With the unstable courage, he said, "Hermione, you've been poisoned."

"I've been what? Poisoned?"

"Yes, sort of,"

"You're lying,"

"I swear I'm telling the truth! You became so in love with me because of the potion! We have to find a way so you'll be to normal!"

Hermione stepped backward. "No way. I'm already normal."

"You have to listen..."

"You just don't want people to know that we're dating, do you? Because I'm a filthy mudblood?"

"No! I mean – seriously, Hermione..."

"Or because you actually never love me?"

Draco stopped talking. Hermione started to shed tears. She was completely wrong, Draco thought. He really loved her – it was all misunderstanding. Draco just wondered if her feelings wasn't real. If she would hate him, even more, when the effects of the potion hadn't affected her anymore.

Draco couldn't force himself to watch her crying, so he hugged her. "Don't you ever think about that, dear. I love you, very, very much. But you have to know the truth. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have to tell you this. Please, Hermione, don't cry. I feel more pains than you know when you do."

Hermione looked at Draco. Might be deeper than Draco did at her. He wiped her tears slowly and softly. With only that, she felt so warm. It felt like she was standing in the middle of North Pole, felt so cold, but then a sun shone and made a brighter day. And it became warmer and warmer when Draco hugged her tighter and then, kissed her forehead.

"Will you listen to me, love?" Draco whispered, sounded desperately. Hermione nodded. Then Draco explained everything to her, from the time she drank the juice Krum gave. Hermione remained silent. But when Draco mentioned something about Peppermint Potion, she remembered something.

Before Draco finished the story, she interrupted, "Wait a minute. Peppermint Potion?"

"Yes. So, do you have any idea how to find the healer?" Draco asked back.

"No, no, I mean... really, Draco? _Condulcis Liquamentum_?"

Draco frowned. "How did you know? Snape told students from Slytherin only to brew it once, but he never tell us the details, and what the effects are. So neither of us can make it. Except Pansy, I suppose."

"It doesn't matter how I knew. Are you sure I drank that one?"

"Of course I am, I've told you about Snape and Pansy looking for it – is there something wrong, love?"

"Can we find another one? I just want to test if it actually works."

"Are you joking, Hermione? No, we're not going to force people to fall in love,"

"So you're saying that now I am forced?"

Draco sighed. He didn't even know whether she was or not. He couldn't find out her true feelings for him until she became normal. "You really are, right? You've been poisoned! What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. I was thinking...the point is you have to help me! Tell Pansy to make another one, or we can find someone who wants to brew it for us!"

Draco chuckled. "Pansy? No, she's not helping! Especially when it comes to you. Besides, you don't have to bother to ask her help."

Hermione looked a bit confused, but she didn't take a long time to remember what Draco said earlier. _Snape told students from Slytherin only to brew it once..._

She looked deeply at the young Malfoy's eyes. "Can you?"

"I'll try my best," Draco answered briefly. He held her shoulder. "_We_ will try."


End file.
